Amber Cradle
by Aeneid
Summary: Momo's school isn't that good in AGWS battles, and being at odds with another school isn't helping them either. However, things get out of hand when Momo Mizrahi fights the most popular guy from the rival school! [Jr. x MOMO] CHAPTER 2 UP!
1. Chapter 1: Challenge

Hi everyone! Another one of those experimental fics of mine… And its sooo hard to come up with a summary so just read it! I know that you want the summary but please read this, I had fun writing this and of course, the plot WILL thicken!

Notes: The italics are MOMO's personal thoughts. ^_^ And there's some Japanese words too. The ages and their grades of the characters are taken from Japanese school system. Also, MOMO is a bit OOC.

Coupling: Jr./MOMO (MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!), possibly chaos/KOS-MOS and Shion/?

Their ages are:

Jr. and MOMO: 15, freshmen

Tony, chaos and Hammer: 16, sophomores

Shion: 17, senior

Disclaimer: I don't own Xenosaga.

Amber Cradle 

_My life is so stupid…_

_Why do you ask? Let me tell you._

_I attend this school in Second Miltia, which was a very expensive school but then…_

_Everyone in our school sucks at piloting A.G.W.S. that was the 'sport' nowadays. I guess no one had interests in piloting those machines except me, the daughter of the owner of the school…_

_And because of that, whenever we, the students of Kaiou Highschool go out in public, students from the other schools bully us…_

_Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I was also bullied but I fought back… and because of that, my schoolmates were bullied too._

_It all started when…_

3rd person point of view…

"Momo, let's eat here!" a girl with black hair said excitedly, pointing at the fast food.

"That café? Aya, I think this café is owned by one of the school directors of the other school, Toukai Highschool…"

"What do they care? We have the money, right? Let's go!" Aya Ishikawa grabbed her friend's hand and they entered the café.

Minutes later, a limousine pulled up into the restaurant and the driver got out of the car, opening the passenger door. A 15-year-old boy got out of the car, wearing shades and he entered the fast food restaurant, with two of his companions opening the door for him… They all headed to the upper floor…

"Sir!" his schoolmates bowed at him as he passed by.

"H-hey, j-just sit down, you don't need to stand up and bow!" the 15-year old said and they complied with his request…

"How's it going?" he asked as they all sat at their usual place.

"Nothing much, Jr.-san. About our A.G.W.S. units…"

"Oh, don't worry about those. We're the best in Second Miltia, right? And even the Second Miltian Government is funding our school!" Jr. said.

Minutes later, two girls started to go into the second floor but some students from the same school Jr. attended stopped them. "Hey, you can't come here."

"And why not?" Aya asked haughtily.

"We just said so! Go down the stairs and eat there! That's where you all Kaiou students belong!" the boy pushed Momo's bestfriend down the stairs…

"Aya-san!" Momo rushed down the stairs to help her friend. "Are you alright?!"

"And you…" another guy said. "You're her friend, right? Well… get ready for some punishment…" and minutes later, Momo found herself surround by EVERY Toukai student in the café…

"Hey, where are Souichirou and Akira?" Jr. asked as he looked around the café but found no one in sight. He had just been to the bathroom and when he got out, his schoolmates were gone. The red head went out to the balcony to find all his schoolmates bullying two girls. Much to his amusement, the pink-haired one was fighting back by drenching his friends, Souichirou and Akira with some soda… He knew that those guys wouldn't back down from challenges even if their enemy were a girl… Jr. ran down the stairs and went outside.

"What's happening here?" he asked everyone. The two girls being bullied looked at him but the pink-haired one with amber eyes glared at him angrily.

"These friends of yours pushed my best friend down the stairs!" Momo yelled angrily.

"Hey, we told you not to proceed."

"Fine! If you don't want us to go to that café, then don't! Even though we go to Kaiou doesn't mean you can bully us around you arrogant idiots!" the girl yelled. "Aya-san, let's get going to Papa's hospital… its near."

"Hospital? The Mizrahi Hospital? You're his daughter?" Jr. asked.

"What if I am? Aya-san, let's get going. Can you walk?" she asked and her best friend nodded her head, looking a bit tired.

"Wait! Let me take you there." 'Rubedo' volunteered.

With Aya just hiding behind her, she got a nearby glass of soda and poured it over Jr.'s head. "No thanks."

Everyone gasped in horror as Jr. shut his eyes. After Momo poured half of the contents, he got the glass. "Soft drinks are made for drinking, not for pouring over one's head." And drank the rest of the content.

"Whatever." With that, she walked off.

_And because of that, the Toukai students made their move to bully my fellow schoolmates just because I spilled that soda on Gaignun Kukai Jr.'s head! And why the hell are they taking their anger on my schoolmates?! And so, I took Aya-san;s advice after visiting her in the hospital today: Apologize to Gaignun Jr._

_'Fine!' I said but I won't say sorry… 'I'll make a proposal instead!' There's no way I'll go down on my knees and beg…_

_So, with a letter in my hand, I headed Toukai Highschool and headed to their 'A.G.W.S. practice room'._

Momo entered the practice room where the students said Gaignun Jr. was… When she started to walk around, she felt the ground shake and knew bullets headed her way… She rolled on the floor to prevent the bullets from piercing her frail body. "Hey!"

"Nice dodging!" a voice remarked and she looked straight ahead. To her irritation, his two clowns were with him… And had triumphant smiles on their faces!

"Whatever." She said. Her pose was quite silly; her right foot just slid a bit sideward in a 45-degree angle while her left was supporting all her weight…

"You're the first person to dodge my bullets." Another person said. She stood up and came face-to-face with Gaignun Jr., who just came down from his A.G.W.S. His school uniform was all wrinkled now and his necktie was loose. His polo shirt was opened up to his chest, showing his broad chest.

"Really now? I'm flattered." She said sarcastically.

Jr. grinned and asked, "So… why did you came here?"

Momo gave him an envelope. "Here."

"What? You just came here to give me a love letter?" Jr. looked like his birthday had come early. His sapphire blue eyes were gleaming happily. 

"Idiot. It's a challenge letter." She said.

The 15-year-old boy's smile faded but nonetheless opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. "You're challenging us to an A.G.W.S. battle next week?"

"Of course. 3-on-3 battle to be exact. If we win, you promise not to bully the students of Kaiou anymore. If you win, that café belongs to you."

"Sure, why not? I also have a proposal as well."

"What?" Momo crossed her arms.

"If either of us win…" he eyed her. "I'll announce to everyone that I'm going to court Momo Mizrahi and make her my girlfriend." Jr. smiled.

In anger, she slapped him on the right cheek. "Sorry but I'm not your 'flavor of the week', you playboy. Bother someone else with your jokes." The pink-haired girl stomped out of the 'practice room'.

_'What nerve that guy has! Does he think I'm an easy girl?! There's no way I'll fall in love with such a guy! Of all the people that I hate, it's him. Who does he think he is? Even though he's the son of the owner of the Kukai Foundation, he can't boss me around!'_

"Momo, what are we going to do? We can never find A.G.W.S. pilots that easy!" Hammer said few days later, 2 days to be exact.

"We can! You, Tony and me can handle it! I'm good at piloting!"

"Me? I can only do strategies but never pilot! And Tony can wreck his A.G.W.S. before the battle starts! We should find some people who are fit for the job. Maybe Shion Uzuki, a 3rd year, can do the job. They say she's good at piloting A.G.W.S." Hammer suggested.

"She's… a senior, right?"

"Yup." Tony said.

"That settles it! I'll find her right away! See you guys later!" Momo left the room and dashed away.

Momo ran up the stairs to the third floor, where the seniors' classrooms are located… She needs to find Shion Uzuki… and fast before classes start that morning.

"Um… excuse me." She said to a passing female student.

"Yes?"

"Um… what section is Uzuki-sempai?"

"She's in 3-A."

Momo blinked. The A.G.W.S. pilot was in section A, the best class…? Wow, her sempai must be really that intelligent! Finally, she went to the classroom that says '3-A'…

"Can I help you with something?" a woman wearing eyeglasses asked.

"C-can I please speak to Uzuki Shion-sempai?"

"You're speaking to her right now." The girl smiled. "What is it?"

"Well… I-I challenged Toukai Highschool to an A.G.W.S. fight and… I still need two pilots…"

"You challenged Toukai? Wow, you must be really confident to beat them."

"Its because I can't stand the way they treat us Kaiou students. I made a proposal that if we win, they won't bully us anymore."

"I see… Two more pilots, right? I'll ask my friend in 2nd year if he can pilot his A.G.W.S. for us."

"Thank you, sempai." Momo bowed gratefully.

"No problem." The girl wearing eyeglasses winked at her.

"Wait, Uzuki-sempai." Momo said as Shion was about to enter her classroom. "What A.G.W.S. will you use?"

"Um… VX-10000."

"A prototype, right? Do you… bring it to school?"

"No…"

"Will it be alright for me to call your house right now and ask if they could bring it to school, sempai?"

"Really? Thank you!" Shion said. "The 2nd year boy I'm telling you about always brings his A.G.W.S. to school so there's no problem."

"Alright. Please go to the practice field after class, sempai. We'll start practicing today."

Shion nodded and proceeded to enter her classroom. Momo went to the principal's office and called up her sempai's home to ask for the A.G.W.S. Then, she called her father at the office to ask for her prototype VX-4000…

After classes…

Many students gathered around the trucks as A.G.W.S.s were brought to school that day. Shion herself got the red A.G.W.S. while Momo tried hard not to jump to the cockpit and try out the prototype her father gave her…

_After classes that day, everyone was excited to see A.G.W.S.s being delivered here in Kaiou by Papa's company! Uzuki-sempai was surprised to see her own mecha at school and she thanked me with a hug and a kiss… Sempai is so nice… The boy she was talking about was named chaos and he got an AG-02. Even though it wasn't a Vector one, it was a nicely made gear. I heard that Hammer made it for chaos because the silver-haired boy saved him once from some bullies. Uzuki-sempai and chaos-sempai were good pilots but I'm no good! I only tried the simulation but I haven't piloted the real VX-4000!_

_As Uzuki-sempai started to practice with chaos, little did we know someone would pay us a visit…_

"chaos-sempai, please aim your guns properly." Momo Mizrahi yelled through the practice field and suddenly, the guns fired without warning. The people within the 500-meter vicinity, including the pink-haired girl fell to the ground from the impact.

"Sorry about that, Momo." chaos said sheepishly.

"Its alright, sempai!" she said and stood up, dusting her skirt. "I'm fine."

The AG-02 suddenly disappeared and chaos stood in its place. "Momo, why don't you start piloting your VX-4000 now? If you can't, me and Shion can help you pilot it properly."

"Thank you!" With that, Momo jumped up and got into the cockpit.

While Momo was piloting, a 15-year old boy wearing shades entered the campus. He was wearing the Toukai School uniform for boys. He wore a long sleeved polo with a necktie hanging loosely on his neck with matching charcoal colored pants. On his feet were black leather shoes…

"Hey, you can't enter here. Momo-san's practicing her A.G.W.S. here!" male seniors told him.

_Momo-san…? _"Actually, I want to talk to her…" he said and took off the shades.

"You're a Toukai student? Let's see what I can do." A blonde sophomore said. "Hey peaches, someone's looking for you!"

"Tony, stop calling me 'peaches'!! I have a name and its Momo!!!!!" a familiar voice said. "And who's looking for me?" the amber-eyed girl turned her gear to Tony's direction. "Gaignun Jr.?!?!" she yelled in surprise. She forgot that she was piloting an A.G.W.S. and before she knew it, her head slammed hard against the cockpit.

"Momo, are you all right?!" Shion asked, kneeling near the cockpit. At once, the head part of the VX-4000 opened and the pink-haired girl crawled out.

"I'm fine…" she said and stood up at once.

"You have a wound! Hey, someone get a first aid kit! Momo's bleeding!" she yelled and one sophomore started to run towards the clinic.

"I'm fine, really! Its only a wound!" she said.

"Hey Momo." A masculine voice said.

The girl turned around and saw a goofy smile on Jr.'s face. Immediately, she had the sudden urge to punch him in the face and wipe off the smile from his face. "What do you want? And don't call me Momo! We're not THAT close yet!"

"Is it bad to visit your school? I don't see anything wrong with that."

"Whatever, just leave! We're practicing here!" she yelled.

"Practicing? You're practicing in THAT?" he pointed at her skintight clothing.

"Its called a plug suit if you don't know." She said, looking at him angrily. "And it's the proper wear for piloting an A.G.W.S."

"I call it slutty." He commented.

Momo didn't reply but she just smiled a painful smile. Jr.'s comment was too much… She didn't look like a slut!

"You have no right to call my fellow student a slut. Please leave the school grounds now." Shion commanded.

"Fine, if that's what you want. I'll wait for you, Momo. I'll give you a ride home." He winked at her and left the practice field…

"…"

"Don't let him bother you, Momo. Its nice that you wear a plug suit, unlike us." Shion said, trying to cheer her up. She nodded in agreement and waited until the first aid kit arrived.

-------------------------------------------------

Momo Mizrahi sighed in relief as they finished the practice… No more than 5 times, she fell and slammed her head repeatedly into the cockpit, earning some bruises in her forehead and 3 plasters covered the wounds.

"Hey."

She turned around and saw Jr. looking at her through his sunglasses. "How was your practice?" he asked.

Momo ignored him and continued her way but he grabbed her arm. "I'll take you home." He said.

"No thank you. You don't like 'sluts' as your girlfriend, right? Don't bother, Gaignun Jr." she said coldly and walked away.

_The nerve of him to say 'I'll take you home.' after he called me a slut! Who does he think he is?! Does he expect me to bow down and beg sorry to him? No way! Damn him, there's no way I'll be his girlfriend!_

_Next day, I never expected such a thing to happen…_

End of Chapter 1

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How was it? Please review!!!!! ^____^


	2. Chapter 2: Sorry

I am finally back! Everyone, it has been far too long since I have updated ANY of my Xenosaga stories. Little by little, I will update each of it until I am finished with each and every one of it. I promise that.

Oh yes, there may be changes in the second chapter, but not too much. I won't be using OCs that much. They'll be playing a **very **small role in this fic anyway.

I really want to thank 100-series for her fic 'Golden Bullet', something that has inspired me to go back into writing this fic. Thanks a lot!

I hope everyone enjoys Chapter 2, even if MOMO is a bit OOC... Sorry about that. >. I'll really try to keep her in-character in the future chapters.

Disclaimer: Xenosaga does not belong to me. It belongs to its respective owners. I only own the OCs used in the fic.

FYI about this story's status: Updated: 6-15-03 - Published: 6-15-03 .

Better late than never! XD

* * *

**Amber Cradle**

Chapter 2: Sorry

_Momo's Point of View_

"Excuse me?"

I slammed my fists against the hard wooden table that belonged to the Principal of Kaiou High School, who also happened to be my father's closest friend. He flinched at the sound, but I paid no heed to it.

I was in a very bad mood.

"Y-you heard me, Miss Mizrahi." Charles Kageyama, a man in his earlier forties, said, desperately trying to regain his composure in front of me. "I cannot allow such… competition between Kaiou and Toukai to happen! You know very well that the ties between the two schools are—"

"The hell do I care about the ties between the schools! This is a matter of pride in our Academy, as well as the social welfare of our students!" once more, I slammed my fists against the table for added effect. "What if, Mr. Kageyama, I tell all of the parents of the students the reason WHY they have been getting hurt for the whole year? Well?"

I saw him paled at the mere mention of the word 'parents', and I knew that this victory was mine.

"Y-you wouldn't, Miss Mizrahi!"

"I can, and I will. I am, after all, the daughter of the owner of Kaiou." I said, feeling very confident all of a sudden, as I started to cross my arms in front of me. Seeing my father's friend's very worried face, I did my best to smile. "Don't worry about it too much, Mr. Kageyama. In fact, Gaignun Kukai Jr. has just sent us a data disc as to how the 'friendly match' between our schools will go about!"

Fixing my ruby red beret with the insignia of the Mizrahi Laboratory, as well as my own school, I handed the small device to the Principal. "If you please, Mr. Kageyama, feel free to review the content of this."

I positioned myself just behind the chair he was sitting on as he placed the data disc on the designated hardware positioned on his desk. We watched in anticipation as the data began to load…

…Only to be disappointed, though that would be in my case, for the video that supposed contained the rules and regulations of the match turned out to be something else…

It was a love confession!

Worse, it was addressed to me!

Worst still, it was Gaignun Jr. addressing the confession to me!

It went something like this:

_Hi there, Momo! Ya probably know why I made this video, but I'll state it again. I just want to make sure that I keep my end of the bargain._

_You would probably guess that I fell for you at first sight, when I saw you splashing those sodas at my friends and schoolmates at the café. Strange, but it felt as if I got struck straight in the heart when I saw you wearing that boring white blouse and skirt, your cherry-colored hair drenched with those carbonated drinks._

_Anyways, as I promised, I AM going to announce that intend to make you my girlfriend, no matter what it takes. Understand?_

_I won't take no for an answer either._

_With that said, I bid you goodbye, my little peach._

When it was done playing, my mood turned from a happy one to a very, very vile one. I wanted to strangle that man who had embarrassed me far too many times already! I could even sense the smile that was beginning to crack on the Principal's mouth!

Without saying anything, I started to stomp away, wanting desperately to kill that red head with my AGWS. The Principal's voice, however, made me snap back to reality. "Ms. Mizrahi, where are you going?" he questioned.

"I am going to Toukai, sir. I have an unfinished business to settle." With that, I left.

* * *

I ignored the blatant stares given to me by the students of our rival school as I made my way through the halls. Unlike my school, the freshmen classrooms were located on the topmost floor, which happened to be located on the fifth floor of the building.

Unfortunately, the elevator of their school was broken on the day of my visit, so I used the staircase. At that time, the stares started.

"Yeah, yeah, I know my uniform is an eyesore to your sight, so stop looking at me already!" I said, referring to Kaiou's red, white and pink uniform combination.

It consisted of a puffy, white long-sleeved blouse that had red forearm-long cuffs on both sides. As expected of all the female students in our school, I had to wear a red vest, which I considered something very inappropriate to wear, since the damn clothing did not run over to cover the blouse I wear. Instead, there was a rather large gap to make room for my still-growing chest!

Really, what the hell was the Uniform Committee of Kaiou thinking!

Anyways, my pink pleated skirt reached the quarter of my thigh and as compensation for the rather revealing uniform, I wore black stockings where a design of a flower was etched on my left thigh and leg. My shoes sported a reddish-brown hue.

Finally, I reached the fifth floor and to my utter delight, my target was stand on the hallway, talking to his loser friends. It was lunch time, so it was customary for students to get out of their classroom, stretch a bit, and eat their lunch. In my school, that is. I don't know with their custom, but I couldn't care less.

I want my revenge.

Without thinking, I started running at top speed…

… and I gave him a swift kick in the head.

Everyone in the hall was too shocked to say anything as he landed with a rather loud thud, while I was grinning like a mad person. "That was for embarrassing me in front of MY Principal." I said haughtily.

To my surprise, Gaignun Jr. jumped up from his sprawled position, dusted his jet black uniform that had an unusual high collar that was unbuttoned at the throat and started grinning at me, blue eyes twinkling in delight. "Aww, you didn't like it, Momo-chan?"

The nerve of him to call me by my name! "You have no right to call me 'Momo-chan'!" I yelled at him. "However, you may call me Miss Mizrahi."

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really now?"

"YES!" I screamed in frustration, nearly stomping my foot in the process, something that would make Daddy faint if he saw that his 'young lady daughter' was behaving in an un-lady-like manner.

"And why is that?"

I looked at him as if he had gone daft. "Because we're not close!"

"In that case…" his sapphire-colored eyes suddenly closed halfway, a smirk forming from his lips, and before I knew it, the red head that was standing before me had bent down and kissed me right in front of EVERYONE in his school.

Oh my god.

What the…!

I pushed him away from me, breathing heavily from the lack of oxygen, something he had taken from me. "Y-you uncouth being! What have you done to me!"

"What, you've never been kissed before? Saving your first kiss for your so-called 'Prince', Miss Mizrahi?" the last two words dripped with heavy sarcasm, and I wanted to kill him right then and there. "Besides, didn't it seem that I just 'took your breath away'?"

"Shut up!" I screeched further, my eyes burning with my own tears. I will NOT cry in front of the enemy! "You have no right to do such things to me, even if, I have to admit, I insulted you. I only wanted to teach you a lesson, but you've humiliated me in front of your schoolmates!"

My feet suddenly led me away from him, and I heard him calling me like a lunatic, begging me to come back. I ignored him; my pride was at stake, and I promised myself NEVER to fraternize with the enemy.

I will never EVER betray my school.

* * *

I arrived back at school just in time for practice, and I was less than thrilled to practice, even if we had a new member joining, who happened to be a freshman like me who went by the name of Albedo Piazola.

He was good in handling his mecha, the one called something-Simeon, and as he showed us his skills, hope fluttered in my heart.

Maybe we do have a chance against Toukai…

"I've decided!" I announced to my _sempais _that afternoon, right after their practice. I had to sit out for the day because Hammer had gotten detention, and in turn, I placed myself in charge of the team strategies temporarily. "The main fighters for the competition between the two schools would be chaos-sempai, Shion-sempai and Albedo. I, in turn, will be the reserve. Is that alright with all of you? You very well know that I am not so good in fighting…"

"That is alright with us three." Uzuki-sempai said, speaking for all of them. She smiled at me and ruffled the hair underneath the beret that I was still wearing. "Just try and practice whenever you can, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!" I replied cheerfully. I was feeling much better already…

That feeling, however, did not last very long, for another annoyance came its way to smack me right in the face…

"Miss Mizrahi, come here quick!" a fellow freshman, a female in particular, came rushing towards me, and without warning, pulled me away from the others. She then led me towards the entrance of the school, and the next scene almost made me want to let the earth swallow me whole once more…

The whole school was littered with peach blossom petals, and more petals were to come as a helicopter circled around the school, throwing more of it. Right in front of the entrance stood a silvery-blue AGWS and as soon its head turned at my direction, it aimed its gun skyward and the cloud of smoke began to form words.

It read 'I am sorry. –Gaignun Kukai Jr.'

* * *

I hope I didn't make a mistake... it has been too long since I have played Xenosaga Episode I and Episode II. 

Hope you enjoyed that! I'll keep on writing, though I cannot write much this week because I'll be at my school for two days!

Anyways, thanks for waiting for so long for this fic to be updated!

Also, I may still edit this fanfiction because I was in a hurry to post this thing. Anyways, feel free to give me a review, a constructive criticism, violent reaction, and so on and so forth. Flames are to be used in my bonfire.


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